Resident Evil 4: Company
by LovelySpaceyGirl
Summary: Leon S. Kennedy is on a new mission; find Ashley Greham, the president's daughter. But if that wasn't tricky enough, he has to take four sixteen year olds with him. Will Leon be able to babysit five teens at once? Or will it all go to his head?
1. Chapter 1: The Mission

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following! **

**Chapter One:**

**The Mission**

It was cold outside but none of it punctured the warmth of the van, where two S.T.A.R.S agents were sitting, one driving. In the back was a brown haired man with sparkling blue eyes, who two was a S.T.A.R.S agent but was a little bit more important then the people driving. It was a dirt road and the ride was bumpy. The man in the back stared out the window into the darkness of the forest. His head was turning with all the details about the mission.

"Ashley Greham, the presidents daughter was kidnapped a mere few days ago. Leon, your job is to find Ashley and bring her back alive! And also, if you have the time, find out who among us have kidnapped her." Dan DeChant had said to him before he left the remains of Raccoon City, just as a reminder to him of what had happened there. "Oh...also, I want you to take some other people with you. No matter how many people we send they seem to get killed right when they hit the city. Of course that won't happen to you now, eh Leon? Take care and be careful..."

The bus slowed to a stop and Leon hopped down at HQ of S.T.A.R.S. It was on a mountain, one that never seems to stop snowing. Leon looked back at the bus where the driver looked impatiently at him and the paint on the blue mini van was still fading. As he waited, he took out the picture that was taken a few days previous to Ashley's kidnapping. It showed of a young blond hair girl who had beautiful hazel eyes. He grinned a little at it, she looked so happy. Now she's probably scared. He then heard foot steps and looked up, stowing the picture in his pocket. Kirt Mathison was walking towards him, behind him were four young teenagers, all in S.T.A.R.S uniforms with only handguns and knives on them. They were all frowning until they reached him, then the boys gave him a half hearty smile and the girls grinned. Leon looked from the children to Kirk.

"You want me to take mere ten year old kids on this trip...That's insane! They'll do nothing but slow me down." Leon complained and all of them glared at him.

"Sixteen for your information..." one of the boys growled at him. Leon glared back.

"Right...borderline agent, you want me to take them on a mission where most have died doing?" Leon snapped back.

"Leon, calm down dude!" Kirk warned, then went on. "This kids were raised here. They've been holding a gun at the age of five. There probably the most practiced guns man ever! Besides, Dechant wanted them to finally get out of here and into the real world. Please Leon?"

Leon glowered at all the young faces. They did seem old enough and capable...Who knows, maybe he needed some help on this mission...

"Fine..." he growled, even though he was relieved of having company.

"Right, then I believe an introduction is in order! This here is Blaze and Silver Frost." he pointed out the two kids on his left, one with white blond hair pointed in every direction and next to him was his younger sister, whose red hair was like fire in her pony tail hidden under her hat. They both had identical hazel eyes. "Yep, just as you think, father was Joseph Frost. Died when there mother got pregnant. Grew up here literally when there mother died. And now these two," he pointed at the kids on his right, the two had golden blond hair, the boys was, like Silver's, pointing in every direction. His sister on the other hand wore her pony tail a bit lower then Blaze's and didn't cover it with a hat. Her hair was shoulder length. There eyes were the same, a bright turquoise blue. "are Charmy and Space Ashford. No they didn't come from those kind of Ashford's...Angela was not the only child of Charles Ashford but he didn't ever mention these two. Why? We don't know...all we know is after Charles' death, these two were taken here by there mother, before she two died. Now there the last string of Ashford's alive..."

Leon nodded. He never knew that S.T.A.R.S actually nursed young ones here, for it appeared that all of them had been here since toddler age.

The four sixteen year old teens grinned a little and left Kirk's side and one by one, got inside the van. Kirk watched them until Space's hair trailed after her out of sight in the back of the van. Kirk then sighed and turned back to Leon.

"Watch them for us...they are like family...Dechant would be pretty upset if one of them dies...so would I...I practically raised these kids with him...take care Leon..." Kirk said and then with that, he turned his back on him and left back inside HQ. Leon sighed and followed the kids inside the van and slammed the door shut.


	2. Chapter 2: Hostile Invation

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the following!**

**Chapter 2**

**Hostile Invation**

"We'll stay here for ya then." said the driver, smirking a little. They had reached there destination about two hours later. Leon, Charmy, Space, Silver, and Blaze were already outside, reloading there guns, just in case. The forest was old, very old, all the trees were almost white with age, narrow, and spaced far from each other. All was silent except for the wind whistling threw the air, disturbing the leaves on the floor. All five of them walked in silence for a while until they reached a house. It looked more like a shabby old shack but it was bigger and it had a small set of stairs leading to the front door, which was cracked. Blaze looked nervously at the house, thinking she saw something move away from the window. Silver put a comforting hand on her shoulder, making her grin at him. Leon stared at the house for a few short seconds then turned to face the group of teens behind him.

"Now...why don't you four go on ahead and I'll see if any one's inside. Okay?" he suggested, wondering whether or not they were obident. But his worries were unneeded, for they seemed to be happy to not be the ones going inside the house, and walked slowly up the trail. He waited until the backs of there heads vanished beyond the small hill going down before going inside. He walked up the stairs and opened the door, pointing his gun inside to be safe. He held his gun up to head length over his right shoulder and walked slowly inside, hardly making any noise. He looked around the corner to see a man stroking something in the fire of the fire place. he relaxed his position and put his gun back in his black holster on his belt.

"Um, excuse me sir? Have you seen this girl any where near here?" Leon asked, holding out the photo of Ashley. The man glanced at him then pretended not to hear him, continuing his stroking.

"Sir?" he stayed silent.

"Never mind...sorry I bothered you then..." Leon said, not sounding sorry at all but more irritated. He turned his back on him and the man quickly grabbed his axe. Leon heard the scraping noise and turned, dodging with hardly a second before his head would have been chopped off. Leon quickly grabbed his handgun and shot the person in the chest, who backed away for a second, then again, tried to swing the axe at him. This time, Leon was ready and dodged it swiftly, shooting him in the head while doing so. The head blew up and the man had fallen to the ground. Leon panted for a little bit then heard a screeching noise outside. He walked quickly to the window to see a big old green truck with men who looked beaten up, just like the man he just shot. It was gone out of sight a few seconds later and he heard what sounded like a collision of metal. Then in the other direction he heard gunshots and a short scream, that could only be one of the girls...

"SHIT!" Leon yelled and ran towards the door, picking up a box of ammo on the bookshelf on his way. He then pushed on the door but it wouldn't budge, some thing, or some one, was pushing against it on the other side. Cursing quietly under his breath, he ran upstairs, grabbing a grenade on his way that was on the table. He spotted a window and immediately jumped out. He did a somersault in the air, then landed on his feet. It took a second to stand up, but once he did, something punched him, making him stagger backwards. He looked up to see a man holding a pitchfork. He swung it at him again but Leon dodged it, pointing his handgun at him and shooting him in the head, instantly killing him. Then three more came up as the one he just shot fell to the ground at his feet. He shot them all with difficulty, not hitting them precisely in the head. Many times he merely shot them in the eye, making them freak out but not die. Then he heard another scream, time was running out. He shouldn't of let them out of his sight...He finally got sick of it all and just punched the final one in the head and ran off, not caring if he killed it or not. The dirt was still engraved in there foot steps, they weren't far ahead.

Then he ran into something solid. He staggered backwards as the man he ran into turned around and glowered at him. He then walked towards him slowly, holding the wine bottle loosely in his hand. However, before he could even raise his handgun, some one else shot it in the head and it fell. Charmy then ran out in front of him, coming to the aid of his sister, who was trying to fight off three at once. Leon turned to the left to find Silver and Blaze back to back, fighting off a whole group. He then raised his handgun and helped, and moments later the other two joined, Space using her knife as she ran out of ammo. Right when Leon had used the last bullet, the last zombie died. They stood there, panting for a second or two. Then, breaking the silence, Leon asked, "Are you guys alright?"

All four of them nodded.

"Sorry about that...we didn't think the people would be hostile...guess we were wrong..." Space whispered, as if she spoke any louder more would pop out. Leon nodded.

"Sorry I wasn't here sooner, I was trapped in the house." Leon apologized as well. Then he turned to a shack. He walked inside and picked up five packs of ammo and gave them each one. They rested for a second in the shack until Blaze turned around and gave a little shriek, making every one point there guns in her direction.

"What's wrong?!" Silver yelled and Blaze pointed at the wall. On the wall, a rake punctured into her head and blood splattered all over the wall was a woman. Space and Blaze shrunk away from it while Silver and Charmy looked closer to investigate.

"We need to find Ashley...and fast..." Leon noted and then left, the other four following him gladdly. They walked a little while until they reached the village in question, where Ashley was last seen. They all halted at the enterance, staring at the many people working around in the houses and barns. Then there eyes widened as it fell on the stick surrounded by a pit of fire in the middle of the village. One of the S.T.A.R.S agents that was sent to find Ashley was impaled on the stick, engulfed by flames.


	3. Chapter 3: Narrow Escape

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following!**

**Chapter 3:**

**Narrow Escape**

"Oh shit...things just got a lot more harder..." Leon whispered, then ran to a tree, hiding behind it. The other four scattered near him behind there own trees. "Any one know a way that we won't get caught?"

"Well..." Charmy whispered, checking his GPS on his cellphone and looking down an empty road. "Only way threw is over there, which is also where the gate is. We might make this yet!"

Leon nodded slowly, then swiftly jumped the fence where Charmy indicated as the other four followed. They quickly but quietly as possible ran to the gate, and Silver and Charmy, who reached it first, pushed on the gate.

"Damn, locked!" Silver whispered under his breath. The two boys stepped away from the door and all of a sudden a yell cracked threw the air. They all quickly turned around, they were spotted. Every one from the village started walking towards them.

"Stay behind me..." Leon ordered and they did, holding there guns up as they stood behind him. Leon then took the grenade he stole earlier and threw it onto the advancing crowd. In a few more minutes it blew up a big group, making dust fly everywhere, but some were not in range of the explosion, and walked threw the cloud of dust towards them. Leon then grabbed his hand gun and started to shoot along with the other four. However, each of them only had ten handgun ammo each, and they ran out quickly. Blaze ran up to them immediately and started kicking them and punching them, making it harder for the others to get a good aim without shooting her as well. Then Charmy lost hope in using his knife to back them all off and started running off, followed by many and looked inside broken down houses and shacks, desperately looking for something to aid them. Even Space and Silver went together deeper into the crowd, away from Leon at the gate and disappeared from view. Leon was now getting hit and hurt and probably had gashes every where on his body.

Then, when everything seemed lost and hopeless, a shrill ring echoed within the village, making everything stop. Then, leaving him behind, the zombie things left and went inside a building made of old brick that looked like a church that was made in the sixties...Leon ran after them but stopped when the door slammed closed behind them. The door was an emerald green and was the only thing that looked new about it, plus something was engraved into it, in the shape of a cross looking thing.

"Really..." he whispered to himself as the other four joined him, each bearing gashes, scratches, bruises, and in Charmy's case, burns. Leon turned to Charmy in question but before he could ask he said, "One of them had a torch when my back was turned..." Leon nodded and turned away, staring at the church doors. Then Charmy ran up the stairs leading to the church and attempted to open the door.

"ARE YOU STUPID???" Leon yelled but Charmy just glared at him as he turned back around.

"Relax, it's locked, can't open it..." he called back and shook is head as he left to his sisters side. Leon growled a little then looked down a path next to a tower next to the church. He started walking towards it, and then spotted a gate and broke into a run. The other four hesitated a little bit and was still at the village center when Leon turned after reaching the red stone gate.

"So you all want to wait here for them to come back?" he asked, and they all for a brief second looked terrified. Then there faces went back to the emptiness and shook there heads, walking towards him, taking there time. Leon could tell they were whispering to each other but couldn't hear what they were saying. Then he turned back to the gate and sighed. He knew he was being harsh but they had to keep up if they wanted to survive here. It wasn't training, these bullets weren't plastic, these will go threw you and can kill you. But they probably knew this...and they all fought very well today...even threw all the panic they all managed to keep there heads, Blaze however needed a little bit more work on not screaming every time they saw a dead body...he turned back to see them only a foot away, waiting for him to open the gate. They all looked serious about this, not like this was all just a walk threw the park and they would return home without difficulty. They knew the possibilities of one of them not returning home was very high...for sixteen year old kids they were a lot more mature then he expected them to be...

He gave them a little smile, trying to say the apology in it. They understood, and responded with a little grin and nod. Then Leon put his hand on the gate and opened it.


	4. Chapter 4: Beyond Saving

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following!**

**Chapter 4:**

**Beyond Saving**

They walked threw the gate and found a down sliding hill, where they started to walk down. However, above them, three ganados were being as quiet as possible, trying not to be found. They glowered at the five people below them, then, looked towards an unsteady boulder...

"Esto debe pararlos…" one of them whispered, then started to push the boulder with the help of the other three. Down below a new sound came to all of there ears. They looked behind them and stared in horror as the boulder was rolling STRAIGHT TOWARDS THEM.

"RUN!" Leon yelled and they all obeyed, sprinting as fast as they could down the hill to avoid being crushed by the upcoming boulder. Leon then dived to the side where there was a sharp turn, where he hoped the boulder would hit the wall and crumble. He fell to the ground and covered his head, hearing the crashes of the other four behind him, one so narrowly close to the sound of crunching rock. The rock had hit the stone wall with a bang, crumbling at the force. Leon looked up for a second, and then stood back up, hoping no one had gotten hurt. He could tell that Space nearly got ran over, for Silver was still holding her arm tightly as if he had pulled her away from harm. They were breathing deeply, Space clutching a stitch in her chest. Blaze and Charmy were still on the floor, next to where Leon had lay, panting. The ground was nothing but crushed up rock, surrounded by old leaves that had fallen off the trees many odd years ago. Leon leaned against one of the walls, breathing deeply, closing his eyes. He could see movement with his eyes shut as some one moved away from the panting crowd to observe something. Leon groaned a little, longing for sleep, but opened his eyes to make sure one of the kids wasn't being dragged off. The one who had moved was Space, observing a pole stuck into the ground with a skull stuck on the top, red metal rods poking out of its head with smaller skulls attached to them.

"A warning I suppose?" Space wondered aloud, still trying to catch her breath. They all nodded, not wanting to solve that mystery now. After a few minutes Blaze and Charmy picked themselves up from the ground and stood next to Leon, waiting for him to keep going. With a sigh, Leon pushed himself away from the wall and walked downwards, where up ahead they could see a little farm. They walked slowly, not bothering to speed up just yet for they weren't in any immediate danger. Once they reached the farm they found only a handful of ganados, working on the farm. Blaze cautiously moved forward to a tree, where, nailed onto it was a blue piece of paper.

_There are twelve blue medallions _

_Five in the farm_

_Seven in the church._

_Collect ten or more and you get something special_

Blaze had read this out loud in a whisper, then when she was done she looked up.

"'Collect ten or more and you get something special', who was this by?" Silver asked, keeping his voice low so the ganados didn't hear him.

_"_I don't know...there isn't a name..." Blaze answered. Space and Charmy looked at each other, then all four of them glanced at Leon.

"Leon? You okay?" Space asked in a worried whisper. Leon had been spacing out, his mind far from the farm. He shook his head, pushing his mind back to Earth and looked at all of them in turn.

"Yeah...just thinking...well we won't know unless we do it, we'll find the blue medallions and see if anything happens." he suggested and they all nodded. "Now, as to getting around these things...I'll handle the ones at this barn over here," he pointed at the barn closest to them. "Space and Charmy can get the barn over there," he pointed at the barn on the far right side. "And then Blaze and Silver can sneak up ahead and get the ones at the gate. Got it?" they all nodded and immediately ran to the barn, where he hoped Blaze and Silver would be able to find a way out, for he could see the fence, only problem was, it was high and made of wood, no way of climbing. But threw the slits he was able to make out what looked like a fence. He had pointed this out to them, hoping they were able to see it, and it looked like they did. After they disappeared out of sight, Leon ran towards the upcoming barn, where already a man stood, picking up hay with his pitchfork and throwing it to the horses. He hoped that these really weren't ganados at all but as soon as the man heard his foot steps he dropped the hay and yelled at him.

"¡Muere usted delincuente!" the man yelled, brandishing his pitchfork and shuffling slowly towards him. Then Leon remembered something, they were all out of ammo.

"Crap..." Leon muttered, hoping that the kids realized this before shooting hopelessly at there targets. Leon grabbed his knife but right when he put his gun away the man fell towards him, his arms outstretched. He grabbed his shoulders, and the mans mouth opened and what was supposed to be a tong was reviled to be a red tentacle thing that was trying to eat Leon's head, as he tried to push back the villager. Leon struggled but it wasn't all that difficult to fight back and once he did, the red thing vanished back into its occupants mouth. Leon threw his knife and it hit the man in the head, making him fall backwards. Leon quickly grabbed the knife but behind him he heard a scream that pierced the night. He looked behind him, hoping for a sign that whoever had screamed was okay. But before he could find any, the obvious wife of his attacker snuck up behind him and grabbed him from behind. Leon struggled to get her off, finally elbowing her in the chest, then swinging around and cut her head off, blood getting on his shirt as she fell on him. He pushed the body off and ran to the other barn, bursting threw the door way. They were gone. Nothing was left behind except for the blood on the floor.

The barrels next to the doors had been broken, and he spotted a ladder leading up to the higher levels. He prayed that they were hiding up there, and he climbed as fast as he could up the ladder. Once he reached the top, he found Charmy kneeling over his sister, whose breathing came gasps for air. Leon ran to her and joined Charmy.

"What happened??" Leon asked, afraid of the answer. Charmy had a tear rushing down his cheek but he rubbed it off impatiently.

"We thought we got them all...I ran to get the barrels, hoping to find ammo, but when my back was turned I heard her scream...I turned around too late and found one of them had pierced her right threw the stomach..." he explained, his voice getting smaller and smaller. Leon acted fast, for her breathing was getting more ragged and disjointed. He grabbed the bag off of his back and grabbed a can of first aid spray. He used it on her, and immediately, the puncture marks were fading, connecting the skin. Charmy gasped in shock, but felt relieved when she started to breath normally, and open her eyes a bit more.

"How did you..." he began but Leon shook his head.

"It has healing properties, can heal anything except death...that's why if some one is hurt you need to hurry before they die, otherwise it's too late...nothing can reverse death." Leon explained softly as Space started to sit up and Leon stood. "So, what did you find?"

"Only a few herbs...and some money and a gold bangle, nothing more though..." Charmy reported and Leon nodded.

"Give me the herbs very quick..." Leon ordered and Charmy handed them over, while helping his sister onto her feet. Leon quickly mixed them together in a vile and shook it, then he handed one to each of them. "Herbs also have healing properties, use it when one of you are hurt..."

The two nodded and Leon looked over at a window, that was recently crashed into.

"Blaze and Silver must have gone this way...they went up the ladder while me and Space were busy dealing with the zombies." Charmy explained. Leon nodded and motioned them to follow him, which they did. Leon climbed over the window sill, and helped Space threw the window.

"Listen...thanks for helping me back there..." Space whispered to him as Charmy climbed threw the window after them. Leon gave her a little smile.

"No problem, kid." he whispered back and then he walked along a platform that was right below the window sill. He walked along it, making it creek. He then spotted the other two down below, picking up ammo and also, a shotgun. Leon jumped down with Charmy, and he caught his sister when she jumped as well.

"Charmy, I'm not a kid..." Space growled but Charmy just smiled.

"Don't want you to get hurt again." he answered happily, as if his sister wasn't near death at all and was just playing dead in a game. Leon shook his head, still grinning to himself, then walked over to Blaze and Silver, who were looking curiously at them. Blaze two had marks all over her arms and Silver had blood all down his front.

"What have you got?" Leon asked.

"Let's see, some ammo for us all," Silver handed every one a 50 pack of handgun ammo. "and a shotgun, for whoever wants to use it."

"I'll take it if none of you do." Leon requested and Silver nodded, handing over the shotgun. Leon said thanks and then strapped the shotgun over his back, taking some shotgun shells Silver handed over. Blaze then walked over to them from the gate, frowning.

"It's locked, I think some one is pushing it from the other side though. I think me or Space could jump over there but, we aren't sure of what's behind it." Blaze reported sadly. Leon took this into consideration, then shook his head.

"No...we better not risk it, let's go around. I saw another gate coming over here. Let's go." Leon said in a controlling kind of way, and they all climbed up the ladder, Leon in the lead. Leon then jumped down where the window was, and saw not a red gate, but a green stone gate. He pushed this open, and waited for the other four to catch up. Then they walked downhill again, this time, watching the sky as they did, making sure no boulders were triggered loose. But there worries were unnecessary for only a short way down was a house. Leon hesitated before entering.

"How about this...you four wait outside in case...something happens...I don't want you four to wind up in a trap also. So stay out here and keep guard, but if any one comes don't shoot. You got it? _Don't shoot._I'll be back out as soon as I can." Leon ordered, and saying these words, he had a sudden thought of him being like a father telling his kids to run and hide and to not come out if he got hurt. He shook his head violently, he was turning into Kirk and Dan...but he could tell why. These kids weren't like other sixteen year old teens, they were mature and knew what was going on. He would be glad to take care of these kids any day, for now he felt responsible for them, in more ways then one. He started feeling an emotional bond with them, even though they've only been working together for many hours.

The teens nodded, running off to the side of the house where they were hidden from view. Once he couldn't hear their footsteps, he opened the door, and walked inside. It was a shabby old house, like many he had passed, but it was big. All the pictures were faded and most had gashes in them, ruining the picture. He walked on the floorboard, creaking noises coming from his feet. He passed things like drawers and cabinets, all of them were made of polished wood, or at least, what was polished wood before.

Then, in the distance, he could hear thumping noises, like wood against wood. He looked around, trying to find the source. He walked into a room where the sound was loudest, and found a gash in the wall, revealing a room with no passage. He couldn't find the thing making the noise, but he could tell it was coming from that room. He found a bookshelf that looked like it wasn't supposed to be there. He placed his hand there and pushed a little. It moved. Leon then put his whole weight on it, pushing it to the wall, revealing hole in the wall, big enough for him to climb threw. He walked inside and turned a corner, where he found a moving cabinet. Something was inside, and it was trying to get out.

Leon grabbed his gun and reloaded it. Then carefully placed his hand on the cabinet door, counting to three to himself, then opened it. A body fell out, and he pointed his gun at it. It was wriggling on the floor, fighting against his bonds. It turned to see Leon pointing his gun at him, and was trying to say something that sounded like a muffled, 'don't shoot'. Leon hesitated, then knelt down and pulled the tape off his mouth.

"Thank you...ow...ooow that burns!" the man said, then he wriggled into a sitting position, where Leon cut him loose. He didn't seem like he was one of them...

"So...your not one of them?" the man asked.

"No...you?" Leon questioned but he shook his head.

"Nah..."

The man had black greasy hair, that looked as if he hadn't bathed for months. His hair matted with dirt. His eyes were a piercing hazel. He was wearing what looked to be old fashioned clothes, stained with dirt and what appeared to be blood. He held out his hand, that two was covered in dirt. Leon took it.

"Luis Sera, thank you for letting me out of that closet." he introduced. Leon nodded.

"Leon S. Kennedy." he said, then let go of Luis' hand.

"Well...I should be leaving..." Luis said, not offering to tag along. But before he could reach the corner, a big muscled man came around the corner, flanked by two people hidden in cloaks with red gleaming eyes. The man had one blue eye and one machine red eye and he was bald. He two wore a black cape. Luis groaned. "Look...it's the big cheese..."

"The big cheese?" Leon repeated, staring at the man who just appeared. Luis nodded. Leon then ran at the man, punching him in the stomach but he held up his hand, and crushed Leon's hand. He then threw him effortlessly into Luis, slamming them both against the wall, knocking them out.


	5. Chapter 5: Teens to Rescue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following**

**Chapter 5:**

**Teens To Rescue**

His head was spinning like some one had just punched him across the head. Stupid idea, run at him and punch him...ow...and now the kids are probably gone unless the "big cheese" had left him at the house, and the possibility of that is...zero.

Leon opened his eyes. He was in a very small shack with blood stains covering the walls and floors. Looked like it was used for executing or something...Leon tried to stand up but he found to his dismay that he was hand cuffed to Luis. Luis appeared to still be passed out.

"Hey...hey, wake up!" Leon called in a low voice, so not to attract and unwanted attention. Luis stirred and opened his eyes. He looked to the side, trying to shake off the hand cuffs with Leon but it was of no use. Leon gave up and then, remembering his mission, grabbed the picture in his pocket with much difficulty.

"Have you seen this girl?" Leon asked holding out the picture as much as the cuffs would allow. Luis glanced at the picture.

"Let me guess...she's the presidents daughter..." he presumed. Leon looked to the side and could see Luis looking at him as much as he could.

"That's a bit too exact to be a guess...what do you know?" Leon questioned.

"Heard some of the people tying me up talking about it...what are you a cop or something?" Luis asked. Leon shrugged.

"I used to be...you?"

"In the old days...but...being a hero isn't what it's cracked up to be any more...I mean, you save lives and...it's like there not apprecitative for it. Plus, I'm quite a ladies man...so, what happened to you?" '

"Was...but...something happened on my first day..."

"And I thought I was bad!"

"Well...it was the day of the Raccoon City incident..."

"Aah...I heard about that..."

"Yeah..."

Then, in the door way appeared a big man, wearing a black robe and what looked to be a black sack over his head. He was holding I gigantic axe. He was walking slowly towards Leon and Luis. They both started to struggle with there bonds. Then they stayed still as the man held the axe above his head. It came slashing down but right when it did, Luis and Leon pulled away from each other, so the axe hit the cuff instead of them, breaking it. They became free of each other. Leon found that they didn't remove his guns so he grabbed his shotgun from behind him and shot the axe man, with Luis hitting him with a Red9. Eventually, after using all his shotgun shells, the axe man died and lay in the middle of the floor. Luis looked from the axe man to Leon. Then, without another word, he left. Leon stood there for a few minutes, then, a voice came out of his pocket.

"Leon? Leon are you there?" he took the walkie talkie out of his pocket and held it up to his ear.

"Yeah I'm here. Sorry I didn't call earlier. I was a little...tied up." Leon explained.

"That's fine, we saw you being dragged off. You won't believe how much restrain it took to hold back Charmy and Silver!" Blaze enlightened. Leon grinned a little, then frowned.

"Where are you four?" he asked, worry thick in his voice.

"Space and Silver found a insignia and left to the church to see if it would fit, we haven't seen them since and that was about thirty minutes ago. Me and Charmy will catch up with you and we'll meet up. Sound like a plan?" Blaze asked, probably wondering if it was in her place to be giving orders. Leon thought about this.

"Fine, but I'm going to radio in on Space and Silver, see if they've found Ashley yet." Leon agreed and then he changed the channel. "Space, Silver, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Silver's voice issued from the walkie. Leon was relieved.

"What's your status?"

"We've pretty much got this insignia placed, we'll be entering the building...HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??? HELP!!! HELP!!!" Silver called until there was nothing but static. Leon stared in horror at the walkie.

"Silver? Silver do you copy! SILVER!" he called desperately into the walkie. He then gave up, cursing quietly under his breath and changed the channel.

"Blaze, Blaze there's an emergency! I'm not sure how but I think Silver and Space are in trouble. Continue with the plan, try and find me on your GPS. I don't want to risk loosing any one else...quickly though, we have no idea what they will do with them! Plus, I'll be keeping my walkie onto their channel just in case. So if you need help...I won't hear you...so be careful..." Leon ordered.

"Roger." Blaze's voice called and then Leon changed it back, and placed the radio back into his pocket. He then ran outside, and immediately saw some one.

"Over here...stranger..." the man called. He was hunched and he was wearing a black cloak, a hood hiding his eyes and a purple scarf hiding his mouth. He walked to the side of the house and Leon followed, wondering whether or not to trust this man. Then the man opened his cape to reveal fully loaded weapons, first aid sprays, and bombs. "Got somethin' for ya...stranger..."

Leon walked forward and looked at all that the man was selling. He bought a can of first aid spray, a couple of hand grenades, Bolt-Action Rifle, and he upgraded both his handgun and shotgun. He then thought of what the kids might like. But then he thought he could always buy them stuff once he actually GETS them...

Leon left, his bag full of herbs, first aid sprays, and his back held his rifle and his shotgun, handgun in the pocket. At the moment he was using his shotgun, which seemed to be a smart choice after he kicked up the stone gate. Outside was a wooden platform that zig-zagged to different areas. He looked down, probably a twenty foot drop. Better if he didn't experiment on it...he walked along the platform until he heard yelling from one of the platforms below. He waited, better if they come to him rather then he come to them. He stood there, shotgun ready in his hands. Then they started running up the platform towards him. He shot them one by one, killed them in one or two kills, blood staining the wood. Even after he knew the ones on the platform was dead, he still felt eyes on him, eyes that probably weren't supposed to be there. He took out his rifle and started looking around all the other platforms. There, on the highest platform by where the red stone gate was, was one that was staring at him, bow in one hand, fire arrow in the quiver.

"Gotcha..." Leon muttered to himself. Then shot him right in the head with his sniper. The head blew up, blood squirting every where against the walls, and the man fell to his knees, then dropped to the ground.

"Hi Leon!" Blaze screamed behind him and Leon nearly had a heart attack. He quickly twisted around, and almost shot her if she wasn't pushed out of the way by Charmy, before Leon realized it was Blaze.

"What the hell???" Blaze yelled, staring at the bullet stuck in the wall that could have been in her chest. Leon was breathing deeply and stowed his sniper away, so not to hurt any one.

"Well? DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT! I could have died with a heart attack and you could have died!" He blamed but Leon became deeply saddened, what if he did shoot her? Would she had lived long enough for him to heal her? Blaze frowned and looked at the ground, ashamed of herself. Charmy started to suck on his cheeks and moved away slowly. Leon sighed, stood up, and walked over to Blaze. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile, which she answered with a grimace.

"I'm sorry I yelled but...you can't sneak up on me like that! Especially when I'm holding a gun. Okay?" he lectured and Blaze nodded. He closed his eyes, then opened them and asked, "Anyhow, how did you two get here so fast?"

"Oh, you said to come here quickly, and the faster we got here, the faster we can go and find Silver and Space." Blaze responded, her tone suggesting that it was obvious. Leon grimaced, he didn't like people pointing out the obvious, especially when they said it in a way that made him feel stupid. But he knew that Blaze did not know this...until now when she read his expression. Blaze lifted her hand and scratched the back of her head, giving an apologetic look. Charmy grunted.

"Can we leave now? My sister is probably dying at the moment..." Charmy complained and Blaze rolled her eyes.

"Your such a pessimist. Besides, I'm sure they're fine." Blaze reassured, but both she and Charmy didn't believe that, and exchanged worried looks. Leon glared at nothing in particular. He was determined to find them, they couldn't be dead, not now that he actually cared about them. I mean c'mon, why couldn't they die BEFORE he liked them? Leon chuckled on the inside at his dark humor, he would have been devastated even if he didn't know them that long and they died. Leon shook his head.

"Let's move." he ordered. The two teens nodded.

"Oh, we also have the key to unlock the gate." Blaze said, showing him a half of a stone as Charmy showed him the other half. Leon took them and put them together, they fit perfectly. Leon put the pieces in his pocket, then ran down the ramp that lead to the other platform. He zig zagged along the platforms, going up and down ramps, running across dirt a few times. Finally he reached the end without a problem, and fit both of the pieces into the slot. They fit perfectly inside and they heard a click. Leon opened the gate and walked onto a path that lead down hill.


	6. Chapter 6: Del Lago

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following including Characters except maybe one or two but enjoy!**

**Chapter 6:**

**Del Lago**

"Déjà vu any one?" Leon grumbled sarcastically. Blaze and Charmy looked at the tops of the walls but could see nothing. Even when Leon grabbed his sniper and looked around did he find nothing. But guess what happened when they moved forward...

BOOM BOOM CRASH! The boulder fell from the top of the wall behind them and Leon swore loudly under his breath. He didn't even need to say run for they had enough common sense to figure it out. Leon, Blaze and Charmy sprinted as fast as they could but the curves weren't as sharp as the one before. Soon enough they were still running from it, cramps and stitches burning until Blaze tripped and fell.

"Blaze!" Charmy yelled, making Leon stop quickly and turn around. Charmy was trying to hurriedly help Blaze unstuck her foot from a hole. Blaze was yelling in pain as the holewastwisting horribly at her ankle. Leon ran forward to help but his eyes was now on the incoming boulder that wouldn't stop for them to treat Blaze's ankle. Leon was panicking, and apparently so was Charmy. Leon then found that this boulder was smaller then the other one was, and it didn't even hit the walls as it came tumbling towards them. He knew for a fact that even if they got Blaze's foot unstuck in time she was in no condition to run and he didn't have time to heal it. They then heard a snap and Blaze shrieked with pain. Leon quickly glanced at Charmy, who had broke her ankle in order to get it out of the hole. He was muttering his apologies all up until the end, with them still standing there when the boulder was only feet away. It was coming in fast and Leon had hardly any time. He dived and pushed the two out of the way, landing right next to the left wall where Charmy slammed his head, hard against it. The boulder hit the right wall and rolled only inches away from Blaze's now broken foot, where she whimpered at the thought of it being crushed. The boulder then rolled away from them, still down the hill until they heard a deafening crash. Leon sighed with relief, glad that he was abletopush them out of the way in time. Then he remembered the injuries of the two and quickly rolled off of the two teens, who were both breathing heavily. Blaze sat up and leaned her back against the wall, rubbing her ankle softly, tears streaking her cheeks. Charmyhoweverwas unconscious, and blood was pouring out from his wound on the top of his head. Leon cursed to himself and quickly grabbed two green herbs. He mixed them together and healed both of them. Blaze's ankle was mended and Charmy's head had stopped bleeding as the gash on his head disappeared and he was now regaining consciousness.

"Ooooow..." Charmy groaned and felt the place where the gash had been mended.

"Well...that went a littlebitmore challenging then the last..." Leon mumbled. Then he stood up and helped Blaze onto her feet while Charmy shakily stood up. Blaze and Charmy looked a bit shaken, probably because of the near death experience. Leon however had faced far worse many years ago. "Lets move."

They walked along the path until they reached the crash site of the boulder. Pieces of rock littered the ground by the sharp corner where it obviously hit. Then as the other two stared at the damage, Leon turned to see that they were only yards away from the church.

"C'mon!" he yelled and he ran as fast as he could, thinking of the possible conditions of the two. He ran up the steps and burst threw the door. It looked nothing like a church, more like a small home. There were cabinets with lace coverings, bookshelves that looked brand new. The wooden floor was polished and unlike the other homes, this house wasn't full of cobwebs. The three looked around at there surroundings. But then Leon saw something that made his heart fall.

Near a staircase leading upstairs was the broken walkie talkie he had used to talk to Silver, and next to it and covering the stair case was unmistakably their blood. A trail of blood lead them upstairs and silently Leon followed with the two frightened teenagers following. He was careful, probably scared himself into thinking of what he might find. Leon was praying in his head that the two were okay and the blood was only from a leg wound or something they had obtained in the fight and that they left them alive.

Then at the top of the second staircase they heard talking and halted just above the railing so they would be invisible.

"Dos americanos capturados. Trabado para arriba con la muchacha. Otros prisioners escapados." they could hear some one report.

"Good, good...even though the other two have escaped they have our blood running threw their veins. It won't be long until they are one of us...find Sera though, make sure he doesn't escape with the sample. As for the two Americans and the girl...keep them here under all watch. I don't want them to escape just yet..." a deep mans voice ordered. They heard footsteps and a door being slammed shut. Leon peaked over the edge, they were both gone. Leon walked the rest of the way up with the teens following them.

"Well at least their alive..." Leon sighed with relief. The other two nodded, deep in thought. Leon was two. What did they mean "our blood running threw their veins"? He didn't have time to figure out riddles right now. He had to find Ashley and the other two and get out of here. With that thought he walked passed the table and threw the only door. Leon looked down the hallway, the people were long gone by now. Charmy and Blaze ran up behind him as he examined a trap door that lead underground. He opened the door and found that he could easily jump down and walk along a passage. Leon jumped down and moved a little for Charmy to jump down. Blaze jumped but was caught by Charmy, who obviously, didn't like to take any chances of her breaking her fragile ankles. They walked along the passage but it was straight and they encountered nothing until they reached a small room sized passage where the man who sold stuff to Leon stood.

"Got some rare things for sale, strangers..." he said. Leon knew he was a ganado, but he could tell that he was on their side. Must be the reason why he stayed out of sight. Leon moved forward immediately and relaxed his gun position but the other two held their guns to his head. Leon didn't notice this until his footsteps were the only ones heard.

"Hey hey hey! He's cool!" Leon called and the other two relaxed their guns as well, but not fully, still keeping them at their sides. Leon chuckled a little, so un-trusting. He was happy that they trusted him completely, probably because he was from S.T.A.R.S. He moved forward and was surprised to find that in stock was an extra walkie talkie.

"Where did you get this?" he asked the man.

"Found it before you came in, stranger. Saw ya comin' and left threw differ secret passage you see..." he answered.

"And you fixed this by the time we came here? That has to be five minutes at most!"

"I'm a fast worker stranger..."

"Indeed..." Leon mumbled and bought one, they needed another one once they find the other two, and hopefully Ashley. He then reloaded his shotgun, which really needed it at the moment. Also he reloaded his rifle and handgun while the other two did the same with the money Leon had given them.

"Oh cool allowance, you know we never got this growing up." Charmy joked and Blaze giggled. Leon grinned.

"Probably because you wouldn't need it until now...never gave us allowance either. But, hey, you four are like the babies of the family, maybe they'll make you an exception now!" Leon laughed and the other two joined. It was nice to laugh with everything that was going on. But he had to keep serious, otherwise they may never find them.

"Now...you all get to buy ONE weapon, buy one for the other two, since you guys have lived with them your whole lives, you should know what they like!" Leon offered and gave them some extra money after buying another can of first aid spray. He didn't need another weapon, he already had three. Every one else had one, so they needed it more then he did. Charmy and Blaze took another step forward to examine the contents. Blaze without hesitation bought a Broken Butterfly magnum gun. Leon was impressed, she obviously liked things that could kill in one shot. Or maybe take away the fear more quickly he joked in his head. Charmy bought himself another shotgun and Leon grinned a littletohimself. Then Blaze picked the weapon for her brother, which turned out to be a rifle.

"You won't believe how much he is into sniping..." she muttered and smiled, remembering old times when they were little. Charmy grinned also, and picked his sister a TMP.

"She doesn't like pulling the trigger down more then once." he laughed and placed it into a holster. Leon nodded, then, once they were all packed and ready to go, they left down another corridor that lead to a small cavern where a ladder was placed. They climbed up the ladder to find themselves in front of what had to be the real church. A little ways away was the church and they stood next to the gate that entered the grave yard. Blaze shivered a little. Leon walked hesitantly, wondering what might happen if they go inside. They walked passed another old looking shack but didn't take much thought into it, they had to take care of something first. Leon grabbed his sniper and looked around with it, searching for enemies that would be hidden in the night. He heard a loud scream from behind him and twisted around to see a big zombie woman had grabbed onto Blaze, who was struggling against it. Before Leon could do more Charmyshotthe lady in the head with his shotgun, but all it did was make a tentacle thing rise from her head. Blaze was able to escape but they could hear more coming and they backed away from the one advancing towards them. Leon switched weapons to his shotgunandshot the tentacle thing. It took three shots before she finally fell, blood covering the grass. He turned to see Blaze and Charmy battling two others. Blaze got done taking out one that had a flaming bow and Charmy was finishing off one with a pitchfork.

"Let's move. Quickly." Leon ordered and the two nodded. They ran up the steps to the church and Leon pushed on the door but it wouldn't budge.

"Damn! It's locked!" he muttered under his breath. He turned back to the other two, but Charmy was gone. "Where's Charmy?"

Blaze looked around, looking terrified. "Charmy?!"

"Over here!" Charmy yelled. The two ran over to where the yells originated and they found Charmy, pointing out an old crumbling bridge. "There has to be something we can find that will open that door."

Leon looked doubtfully at the bridge. "Will this thing be able to hold out our weight?"

"Only one way to find out..." Charmyanswered and he took a step onto the bridge. It rocked a little but he stood his ground and it stopped rocking. Charmy then walked along the rickety bridge but it didn't fall. He then landed on a sturdy platform up ahead. "Yeah, you can cross."

Leon and Blaze walked carefully down the bridge and reached the platform, where Charmy was already walking across another bridge. They crossed bridges until they reached ground and had to go down a small hill. They ran down it where they found a shack. This time Leon walked inside it and gave them the thumbs up before they went closer. Leon handed each of them ammo, Charmy holding ten handgun, seven shotgun, and twenty-five TMP. Blaze had ten handgun, three magnum, and three rifle. Even though he was running out of ammo, he gave them the most, thinking they would need it. Then they heard voices from a little path a little back. They walked carefully and stayed in the bushes as they watched.

"¡Alimentar le para las cocodrilo!" one of the ganados yelled. They threw one of the S.T.A.R.S bodies into the lake. It floated there innocently for a few seconds. Then a huge monster came up and ate the body, then jumped back into the lake while the ganados laughed. Blood could be seen rising from the bottoms of the lake. Blaze had to hold her hand firmly over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Leon and Charmy looked at the blood with disgusted expressions. Then the ganados rode away in a speed boat, laughing. Leon shook his head.

"Let's hope we don't have to cross this damned lake..." Leon prayed but his luck seemed to have run out. A motor boat sat on the water looking innocent by the dock. The other two gulped but bravely walked forward to get in the boat but Leon grabbed both of their shoulders.

"Nuh-uh, no way am I letting you get on that boat and ride to your deaths." Leon growled and they both glared.

"Silver and Space could be dying right now! We don't have a choice!" Charmy yelled, shaking off Leon's hand. Leon glared back.

"Well then I'm going first, you can hook up the boat with an extra long rope. If I don't make it I'm taking the beast down with me. That way if I die you guys can pull the boat back and ride to the other side, save Space and Silver and hopefully Ashley and get the hell out of here. Got it?" he ordered but he already knew that this was one order the kids would not put up against.

"NO! We are not letting you go and kill yourself! This is suicidal!" Blaze shrieked. Leon growled and held his hand to his head, pacing. There was no possible way that Leon would let those kids step into that boat with that monster alive. He was guaranteeing their safety yet they deny it. Talk about non-selfish kids...

"I'm still going. Nothing you kids say can stop me either. It's my mission to deliver you four and Ashley alive and that's what I'm going to do. That job does not require me to be alive, only you five." Leon explained in a low voice but they made an uproar.

"Your the only reason we survived this long! Without your guidance we'd be dead by now! There's a reason why they didn't let us do this alone you know!" Charmy yelled.

"And if you die now whose going to help me and Charmy get to our brother and sister? We're gonna die trying to pass the doors! And their gonna die out of torture and then Ashley's gonna probably die if no one else is there to save her!" Blaze pointed out. Leon was outnumbered. But he wasn't going to let them onto that boat just yet. He glanced at the boat, there was already a long piece of rope holding it to the dock...

Leon sprinted towards the boat and before the two could realize what he was doing, he started it and started to drive away. Charmy and Blaze's yells and screams followed him threw the darkness of the water. They had to keep quiet. What if one of the ganados hears them and tries to take them from behind? They wouldn't stand a chance! Or would they? He had to focus...he shook his head, trying to clear it. He stopped the boat in the middle of the water and looked around, searching for the beast. He then spotted a pile of harpoons. He picked one up instantly and found that a rope was tied onto it. He followed the rope with his eyes and found that it was tied to the front of the boat. Before he could untie it, he heard it before he saw it. The kids became silent, frozen from their fear. They stared and watched, praying that he will make it out alive. Leon held the harpoon and then...it jumped. The Del Lago jumped out of the water and skimmed the boat. Leon had to hold onto the sides of the boat to make sure he didn't fall into the depths. He could hear the kids yell, pleading him to come back before more harm could be done but he didn't listen.

Leon tightened his grip on the harpoon and held it in front of him, ready to throw as soon as it reappeared. Del Lago then jumped again, but this time AT HIM. Leon moved the boat quickly and threw the harpoon, forgetting all about the rope. It hit but it got stuck into the gills of the Del Lago and it shrieked with anger and pain. There was silence except for Leon's panting, as he squinted threw the thick fog, desperately trying to find the monster. He then heard something swimming close to the surface of the water and he looked to the side to find it swimming quickly towards him. Leon moved just in time to avoid its collision and threw another harpoon at it. It hit right on and it shrieked again in pain and it swam, fast, obviously aware of the rope and using it to its advantage. It swam right towards a rock wall and turned sharply, hoping that Leon will go crashing into it. Leon quickly turned the boat and avoided it by inches. He then threw another harpoon and blood squirted out. It went silent again as the rope stayed there innocently, just like the monster was floating there. He gasped for air, windswept from the battle, hoping it was over. But then, right when he was about to claim victory, he was thrown overboard.

Leon was in the icy cold water and it was hard to move with all the weight pushing down on him. He turned his head slightly to see Del Lago speeding towards him, trying to swallow him whole. He panicked and swam as fast as he could towards the boat, the screams and yells of Blaze and Charmy echoing in his ears. He climbed up into the boat just in time for then the Del Lago jumped right above the boat and landed across the waters surface, but not after Leon was able to hit it with a harpoon. This time it didn't wait, it charged straight for him but Leon was ready and threw one last harpoon into its waiting head.

The head burst open and it shrieked loudest yet. Then it landed into the water with a deafening crash. Leon was relieved until he found that the rope had finally been untied but it was the rope that was stuck onto the Del Lago's back. The rope was racing after its owner until it tied itself to Leon's foot. He slipped and fell. One of his feet firmly placed itself on the edge of the boat but it wasn't going to hold forever. Panicking, he took his knife and started slashing the rope, desperately trying to cut himself free before he was dragged into the waters after the monster. Just in time, he slashed the last string of rope holding it onto his foot and it trailed away. Leon lay there, coughing up water and painfully gasping for breath while closing his eyes. Then he heard the kids desperately call out his name, hoping he was alright. Leon sat up, his eyes still shut and gave them the thumbs up. He heard them cheer. He then saw that the wave had pushed him all the way to the other side of the lake, and that they probably didn't even see his thumbs up, considering how far away he was. He couldn't believe that he survived...and that the rope had let him go that far, it must have been one pretty long rope. He sat back onto the seat on the motor boat and started to drive back towards the kids. He got there without trouble and climbed out shakily. Both teens jumped onto him, embracing him, Blaze was in tears. Leon hugged them back. laying his cheek on their heads. He was so tired and relieved to be alive...

He let them go and immediately felt dizzy and sick. He stumbbled a little at the spot.

"Dude are you okay?" Charmy asked, concern written all over his face. Leon nodded, then shook his head. Something was wrong...

He knelt on the ground and covered his mouth. He coughed up what he thought was water, until he moved his trembling hand away from his mouth and examined his black glove in horror. In the palm of his hand was blood. No wonder his mouth tasted like blood. He then started trembling, coughing up even more blood onto the dock. The other two wasn't repulsed, didn't run away from his sickness. They both knelt down beside him.

"Leon? Leon?!" Blaze called worriedly, crying all over again. Leon closed his eyes, desperately wishing it away. Then he was engulfed in darkness.


	7. Chapter 7: Water Terrors

**Disclaimer: I do not own Leon S. Kennedy or the T-Virus or the setting or Ashley or more the of the characters **

**Chapter 7:**

**Water Terrors**

He shivered, it was cold. He could hear the pitter patter of the rain that must be striking against something. He wondered where he was, but couldn't find the strength to open his eyes. He still felt dizzy, wondering what happened to him on the dock...Leon could hear the whispers of Charmy and Blaze, trying not to wake him. He couldn't understand a word they were saying. But it didn't matter right now...no but he still did have to wake up before they started to worry much more, if that was even possible.

He opened his eyes and for a few seconds wondered if he had opened his eyes at all. It was very dark in the small little shack but he was lying on a clean bed. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he looked over to the side. He saw a table where three plates of food sat, one he could tell was laid out for him. The shack he was in was more like a home, but that meant he wasn't near the dock. Because the shack there was nothing more then a tool shack. He could see a lantern over in the far corner, where the two kids sat, huddled close to each other, whispering. Leon sat up, his headache was going away and he didn't feel as dizzy. The two kids spotted the movement and probably hesitated for a second on whether or not it was a zombie or something. Then they recognized Leon threw the darkness and gave cheers of delight. They both stood up and hugged him, Charmy handing him an extra blanket for he was still shivering.

"You feeling okay?" Blaze asked and Leon nodded.

"Yeah..."

"We made you some dinner." Charmy said, standing up from the bed and taking the plate of food. He sat it on Leon's lap and sat down next to him. "We didn't want to wake you up but we were planning on doing it if you hadn't waken up by morning."

"Thanks..." he looked at his food. He could tell that it was chicken. They must have found a chicken nearby and roasted it on a fire before the rain started. Leon happily ate and finished within five bites. Blaze also unhooked a water jug from her bag and handed it to him. Leon gulped it down and handed it back. "Where did you find the fresh water?"

"Oh, it came from the lake. But Charmy had a purifier from his sister and we used that." Blaze explained and Charmy nodded. Leon looked at his reflection threw the plate. He looked terrible. He was pale and his hair needed brushing and blood was splattered all over his clothes. The kids didn't look that good either, but at least they still had more of a skin tone.

"How long was I out?" Leon asked them. Charmy checked his watch that S.T.A.R.S had given him for his fifteenth birthday.

"About seven hours. You passed out at like eight and it's around three thirty right now." he reported and then he yawned. Leon realized that they probably haven't had a good nights sleep since the day they left, which was probably two, three days ago.

"You two need some rest." Leon ordered and he stood up, taking the plate with him and set it on the table. The kids looked confused. Now that he examined them more fully, they had dark rings underneath their eyes and it looked like it took a lot of strength to keep them awake. They must have not wanted to risk falling asleep with him in this state and he felt bad.

"We're fine, we need to go look for the others." Blaze said but when she tried to stand up Leon took her shoulders and gently pushed her back onto the bed. The bed was big enough for them to sleep comfortably...well sorta, must be kind of weird sleeping with your friend who is the opposite gender of you. He shook his head.

"No, you two really need some sleep. I'll wake you when it's morning. Plus it's too dangerous to go out in the middle of the night in this area. I'll keep watch." Leon explained and they just shrugged, probably too tired to argue. They both laid down without complaint and he could hear Charmy snore within five minutes of lying down his head. He watched them sleep, it was interesting watching them sleep. They looked a whole lot younger, more like scared ten year old kids who are forced to leave their homes. Leon sighed and sat next to a window and watched the rain.

* * *

"Hey, wake up you two." Leon whispered, shaking Blaze's shoulder lightly. It was seven hours later, ten o'clock. Leon felt that seven hours was good enough for right now, they did have a mission to do. And the sooner they got this done the sooner they could sleep full eight to ten hours of sleep. Leon then realized something...would he ever see the kids again even if they do survive this? They will all be terribly busy, not really enough time to just hang. Well...he can worry about this when the time comes.

Blaze and Charmy stirred and opened their eyes. It took a few minutes to get them to sit up groggily. Blaze stretched as Charmy yawned and checked his watch.

"If my sister is dead by now I'm putting blame on you Leon..." Charmy joked but he was also kind of serious, and Leon could tell.

"So would I." Leon said, shaking his head. All fault was his in the first place, if he had kept a better eye on them...the two stood up out of bed, Blaze's hair in her pony tail looked like a spiky tree branch. Leon grinned a little, knowing that she would not like this. Leon's stomach growled.

"Uh...first...could we get some breakfast?" he asked and Blaze nodded. Out of her bag she carefully unwrapped three white eggs.

"Took them from the chicken coop where we found the chickens." she explained when Leon was trying to figure out if she had kept them all this time. Leon joked in his head that if she hadn't taken her backpack off before hand they would have smashed eggs for breakfast. Blaze left outside and came back holding a new jug of water where Charmy purified it. She then placed the water under a fire which Leon created and placed the eggs inside. A few minutes later Leon ate the egg whole. Charmy rolled his eyes.

"dude, did you even taste it?" he asked jokingly. Leon nodded.

"Yes, and it was very good. Thank you Blaze." he said, trying hard not to laugh. Blaze smiled and nodded, then ate her egg too. Once they were done they packed up and left outside. It was still raining, but it was a very light shower. They trudged down an unfamiliar path until they reached a handmade trap door that lead underground. Holding his shotgun at the ready, Leon opened it and left inside. But there was nothing to fear. All that was there was a small pond where some small fish were swimming and another door that probably led to their next destination. They walked along the platform and threw the wooden door where they found that they had just crossed underneath a wall. They walked until they found a place where there was handmade walls all in a circle. They walk inside and all of a sudden they hear loud breathing and thumps coming from a cage.

"Wh-what's that?" Blaze asks, stuttering a little. Leon walked forward a little to try and get a better look, but couldn't see anything.

"I don't know...but I have a feeling we don't want to let it loose...let's go." Leon said, his voice fairly casual even though he was in the midsts of something that was apparently big. They kept walking, Blaze and Charmy at a little faster rate, wanting to put as much distance from the thing in the cage as possible. Soon they weren't able to hear the sounds of the thing any more and they could see that they were traveling next to a river. Leon was nervous, they haven't seen any ganados yet. This doesn't bode well...

The river rushed on before them and they trudged on up a hill next to the rising river. Once they reached the top of the hill though, it was a dead end. They all looked around, searching for another way to go and then found a metal sign that hung right above the river. Leon examined it, and then saw that that the railing was climbable and that if they climbed it side ways, the could reach the other side. Only trouble was, the sign was soaking wet. Leon gulped. This was going to be difficult.

"Over here..." he called and the other two followed and also examined it.

"No way..." Blaze groaned. Charmy nodded, but fear was evident on his face. If one of them falls...they would be over the waterfall and the chances of them surviving was zero...

"It's the only way..." Leon told, even though he wished there was a different way, something less dangerous. He firmly took hold of one of the metal bars that zig zagged on the sign. He breathed heavily, then placed his foot on the rod below. It didn't move, neither did his foot. He then put his other foot on the bar. Then he moved his left hand slowly and grabbed one of the bars farther away. He continued to do this carefully, and once he was half way there, Charmy went. A few minutes later of cold sweat and focus, Leon had made it threw, and Blaze was now trying. However her hands were covered with sweat as she stared down at the rushing water below. She stopped after the second one. Charmy turned his head once he couldn't hear her footsteps any more.

"Blaze?" Charmy yelled over the rush of the water.

"I can't do it..." she yelled back.

"Yes you can, you have to! Think of Silver, of Space! What will happen to them if we don't make it in time?" Charmy yelled. Leon thought that of an odd way to encourage her but it worked. She took another step but her foot wasn't placed right on it and she slipped. She screamed as she started to fall side ways and her glove slipped off of the bar. However she tightened the grip on her left hand and she hung there, screaming, probably only a foot away from death. Leon stared, panic arising. Charmy quickly moved forward, and was at risk of falling himself but he was able to hold on. A few seconds later he knelt on the bar next to where Blaze hung and held out his hand.

"Grab my hand!" he yelled. She reached out but they were too far apart.

"I can't!" she screamed. Leon looked around, searching for anything that might help. He then spotted a platform that hung right next to the waterfall. He ran towards it and examined it quickly. It didn't look sturdy enough to hold his weight for very long, but he didn't have a choice. He jumped onto the wooden platform that was held to the roots below the river. It rocked a little but it stayed still. He looked up just in time to see Blaze pull herself up just enough to grab Charmy's hand. However her combined weight was too much for Charmy's unbalanced feet to handle, standing on a wet steel bar. He slipped and while he still held onto Blaze's hand, slammed his right elbow against the bar. It snapped and his yells of pain was still echoing in Leon's ears even after he fell into the depths of the water.

"Charmy!!!" Blaze screamed but because she had slackened her grip on the bar when grabbing Charmy's hand, her fingers slipped off the bar and she fell, screaming. Leon couldn't see Charmy's head reappear above the surface but he saw Blaze's pop up from the water, spluttering. Leon then spotted a weird shape speeding towards the waterfall. He thrust his hand into the water and grabbed the hem of Charmy's S.T.A.R.S uniform and hoisted him back up onto the platform. Then with seconds to react, he held out his hand for Blaze to grab, who was on the very edge of the waterfall, inches away from falling into the crumbling rocks below. Before they could breathe or do anything, the platform started tilting and they could see the caged rocks below.

"JUMP!" Leon yelled and Blaze obeyed, throwing herself onto the ground a little ways away. Leon then held Charmy tightly to his chest where he was unconscious and jumped, making the platform fall below and fell onto the ground. He got the wind knocked out of him and started gasping for air. Before he could rest though, he had to heal Charmy's broken arm. He took the first aid can spray that he bought yesterday and used it on Charmy, hearing his elbow snap back in place. He could have sworn he saw Charmy twitch. Then Leon laid back down on the ground and started breathing heavily. He closed his eyes, and wished nothing more then to sleep. But he knew he couldn't, not after he had gotten this far. He opened his eyes and looked over at Blaze. Her eyes were open, and she was staring at the gray cloudy sky. She was soaking wet, along with Charmy. After a few minutes Leon sat up and grabbed his own bag from his back. He grabbed two of the three blankets that they had taken from the abandoned house. He gave one to Blaze, who wrapped herself in it. Leon then laid one on top of Charmy, who was still unconscious. They all sat there for a few minutes until Charmy began to stir and opened his eyes. Leon could see that he was surprised that he was still alive.

"We...we made it...?" he wondered aloud, still lying on the ground. Leon nodded. Charmy sat up and wrapped himself with the blanket that Leon had given him. They all sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Then Charmy looked at his watch. "Good thing it's waterproof..."

Leon started chuckling and they all started laughing. They didn't know why, maybe they just yearned to laugh. It was a few minutes later before they stopped laughing. Leon then grunted, standing up. He looked over at the other two, shivering to death. He wished he could do something more for them...he then looked towards the only path they could take, down a small hill then it stopped not too far away. At the very end was a small shack. It wasn't much, but it was probably better then sitting here in the cold with the light shower that was starting to turn into a storm. Without any words, he walked over to the other two, helped them up, and they walked down in silence. It was a very short walk, but by the time they got there, the rain started to pour onto them. They hurriedly entered and were relieved to find that on the table was a lantern. Leon took the lantern and set on the ground, where the two teens sat next to each other and started warming up their hands. He was pleased to see that the teens' shivering had lightened. He frowned and walked over to the doorway in one stride, peering over the edge at the next obstacle. This was going to be harder then the last...

The rushing river seemed to go faster over the waterfall that they just crossed by. Except he found that at the bottom was handmade wooden railings that seemed to be bolted to the ground. He could see towers and hooks carrying crates back and forth. His eyes wondered a little farther to the end of the wooden structure to find a wooden fence that could probably hold everything back except the water, including the crates. He then had an idea to cross...he didn't know how, but something was telling him that beyond that structure was a key or a passage to get inside the church. The kids couldn't go though...they deserved a break, plus, after that drama, they should probably rest a little...

"Stay here..." he ordered and the teens looked at him curiously. Then as he walked outside he heard Charmy yell, "HEY!" Leon wondered if he should just ignore him...nah.

He retraced his steps and walked back inside. "What?"

"Where do you think your going??" Charmy questioned in a motherly-tone, which would be hilarious if not in this situation.

"Outside to hopefully get the key, I'll be back in a second..."

"OH NO! YOU ARE NOT PULLING THAT MONSTER CRAP AGAIN! You nearly got yourself KILLED the last time you ran off by yourself!" Blaze lectured. Oh boy...this is low...getting lectured by 16 year old teens...this is bad. Leon shook his head.

"It's not like that! Besides, what the hell could be in that water any ways? There's a wooden structure everywhere! A salmon wouldn't even be able to go threw that without hitting something. Relax...okay?" he told and even though he knew they would want to argue more, they just glared and nodded. Leon nodded back, then left the shack once again. He walked to the edge where the water was rushing by his feet. He held his hand gun at the ready and looked around, double checking that everything was in check. Then, he looked at the next platform. It was a little raised, and a bit far away. No possible way of jumping without falling in...then he remembered the crates and the fence...

He aimed at the hook holding the only stationary crate, shooting it down. It landed in the water with a splash, and, turning his head a little to face the shack, saw Blaze peek her head out the window, checking to see if he was still alive. Leon gave her the quick thumbs up, then turned back to the crate, which was now floating against the fence, fighting against it without any luck. Leon swung his arms a little before taking the big leap. As he expected, the crate moved forward, making him unbalanced and thinking he was going to fall backwards. But he managed to keep his balance long enough to jump up onto the platform structure. He had to climb a little bit on this one, but he found that not only was it a platform, but it also lead to one of the towers. He also found that this was the path to the entrance of the waterfall, where he could dimly see a cave like entrance. Leon stepped forward, away from the cover of the tower, and examined the waterfall. He could have sworn he saw a little glint of gold...

He looked up, water pounding off of his face. He examined the tower, no ladder to climb up. He then looked back at the waterfall. There was no possible way to get threw that water, pounding the surface so hard he wondered how the ground hasn't eroded yet. He frowned a little, there had to be some way to go inside...he examined the other side of the waterfall. He spotted a lever, and, following the wire that hung to the cliff by what was unmistakeably nails, lead to a wood panel. On the wood panel seemed to be a piece of wood being held by an iron bar. He predicted, that if he pulled that lever, the wood piece would be placed in front of the water, pushing all the water to the sides, making the entrance visible. He grinned to himself, normally, he hates puzzles. Only ones he liked: ones he can solve. Which, unfortunately, was very few...

Leon walked back over to the cover of the tower, where he found two crates on hooks, slowly moving across the iron bars. He shot both of them down, and jumped on them to the other side without any difficulty. He ran to the lever and pulled it, and, just as he predicted, the water was pushed to the sides, leaving the middle and the entrance clear. He smiled and ran back, and jumped the crates back to the platform.

"¡Ahí está! ¡Mátalo!" he heard from inside the waterfall. He squinted and then, to his horror, las ganados started to limp towards him. He grabbed one of his hand grenades and waited, ready to throw at any sudden movements. They then started to run towards him, brandishing torches and pitch forks. Leon threw the grenade into the crowd, and seconds later, they all blew up. The leader however was on the ground, where he walked over to him and slammed his foot with all his might onto his head, where it popped like a water balloon, blood squirting every where. If his shoes didn't have blood on them before they did now, but Leon ignored this. He sprinted into the cave entrance and picked up the insignia, placed on a stone as if it had been waiting for him. He examined it in the extreme darkness of the cave, but could make out the design in the low light. However, right when he placed it securely in his back pocket, he heard a scream.

"Mata a ellos..." he distinctly heard, and as he ran outside, he heard a gun being shot. He ran across the platform and rounded the corner to find las ganados storming into the little shack. These things come from no where! Leon thought desperately. He then took out his rifle and started to shoot as many as he could, while he could hear what must have been their shotgun and magnum inside. The magnum did extreme damage, but not enough, and a short while later he could hear the difference of the magnum to be the handgun. Blaze must have run out of magnum ammo...

"Shit..." Leon muttered, this was pointless, they kept on coming! Worst part is, they didn't even notice him, they were after the kids. Finally, he gave up and stowed his rifle away, cursing the fact that he had run out of bullets. He jumped the last crate and looked around quickly, spotting a loose iron bar in the water. He picked it up and ran towards the shack.

"Crap!" He heard Charmy yell, clearly out of ammo for his shotgun. He could hear the switch to his handgun. They had to be running low on even that...

Leon pierced the shack with all his might, and to his pleasure, found that it had made a decent hole.

"Keep them busy!" he ordered but there was no response. It took four minutes for Leon to make a hole large enough for them to climb up onto the table and crawl threw. "C'mon!"

Blaze, who had just run out of handgun ammo, jumps onto the table and crawls threw first, Leon helping her threw. Charmy then shot the nearest zombie, and then followed Blaze, falling out of the hole.

"Hurry!" Leon yelled, helping him up, but the zombies knew exactly what they were doing. They started to clambber out of the shack, limping towards them with weapons of their own.

"How do we get out??" Blaze shouted threw the mumblings of the las ganados gaining on them. Leon looked behind him, back at the wooden structure. Wasn't there a passage in the waterfall?

"Follow me!" he called and he sprinted towards the river. He jumped onto the crate and nearly fell into the water. After regaining his balance, he quickly jumped onto the platform, turned just in time to catch a mislead jump from Blaze. The three of them ran as the zombies were jumping the crate one by one. They sprinted into the dripping waterfall entrance and escaped into the darkness, where they could hear a iron gate slam shut behind them.


	8. Chapter 8: El Gigante

**Disclaimer: FOR ALL OF YOU MISTUNDERSTOOD PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT MY DISCLAIMERS MEANT I WAS COPY AND PASTING YOUR WRONG. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO CHECK THE INTERNET FOR ANY OTHER STORY JUST LIKE THIS, TRUST ME, YOU WILL NOT FIND ONE!**

**Chapter 8:**

**El Gigante**

They could hear the clangs and the yells of the las ganados, reaching threw the bars of the gate, trying to grab them but out of reach. Leon was breathing heavily, his breath the only thing he could see in the pitch darkness. He swung his bag and started searching for his flash light. Once he found it, he turned it on, and turned around. The gnawed faces of the ganados unsettled him. He looked at the faces of the other two, which looked a little afraid but alright. He then turned back to the ganados to find that they had given up, walking away from the waterfall, muttering.

"I bet they're cursing at us..." Charmy muttered and Leon nodded, he had no doubt that the ganados were cussing at them. Once the last ganados left, Leon turned again and looked down the path. A little ways a way was a rock staircase that lead to an oddly familiar emerald green door. He walked down the stairs and stood next to the door, handgun at the ready with his hand placed in front of him. Charmy quietly tip toed next to him, nodding his head, handgun in his hand. Blaze, who had used up all her ammo at the shack, stood behind Leon, trying to hide from whatever might be behind the door. This made Leon glad, he didn't want to risk loosing her too...

He then pushed open the door a little bit and poked his handgun threw the crack.

"Oh stranger..." they heard. Leon sighed with relief. If he was there, the chances of an attack must be slim. He pushed the door open all the way and walked to the stand where the merchant stood behind. He could have sworn he saw the merchant smile slightly. Leon upgraded both shotgun and rifle, leaving his handgun as a last resort with only thirty-three bullets left. The two teens upgraded the only two weapons they had, and Blaze smartly decided to buy a first aid spray. Leon did the same, along with an incendiary grenade.

"Let's hope we never have to use this..." he whispered to himself but he knew that he would have to eventually, this journey was not over yet, and he had a feeling it wouldn't end quickly and easily...once they were done organizing their bags and buying the things they needed, they climbed up a small staircase and opened another emerald green door. Inside was a small cavern with an iron ladder leading above ground. He hoped that they wouldn't find any more ganados...Leon went first, followed by Charmy and then Blaze. It was a long climb, they must have gone far underground...

The ladder ended and he found a circular iron door. He pushed it out of the way and climbed up, they were in the bushes at the top of the waterfall, where the sign that they crossed earlier stood. He helped Charmy and Blaze out before moving on. It was dark, and cold. He couldn't believe how the fog and darkness made everything appear to be nighttime, when really, it was only six o'clock. But all those hours lost...they walked along the path and found the wooden structure where the noises were heard. However, torches were now lit upon the towers and it was awfully silent...

Leon hesitantly walked inside with the other two, when, suddenly, the gates slammed shut behind them and further on. All exits were sealed...

Ganados appeared and they took ropes to the cage of the thing making noises that they couldn't see earlier. They pulled, laughing as they did, while people on the towers were turning the crank holding the ropes faster, making the gate open even more quickly. Leon waited with baited breath, wondering what was going to happen next. Once the gate was open there was silence, not even the ganados moved. Then they heard something move...something, inside the cage. Blaze and Charmy stopped breathing. Leon gulped, whatever they heard, it was BIG. Then, with a deafening roar, a big huge giant appeared out of the cage. It was ugly, its face smeared and its teeth yellow with beady eyes. It wore a dirty pair of shorts and wore a rope around its neck. It's skin was rough and covered in dirt, giving it an old paper look. It roared again, making the three shudder. The ganados laughed again, until the giant turned its head towards them. Then, the giant swung its arms around like a crazy mad man, knocking down the ganados on the tower. Then it went trampling the ones on the ground, taking some in its huge fists and squeezing them until they died, also throwing them against the wooden structure. It roared in triumph, and their eyes widened in horror.

"We're dead..." Charmy pointed out, Leon silently agreed. Then...it saw them. It roared and, using its head as a weapon, charged at them.

"MOVE!" Leon yelled, and they all jumped aside, Blaze and Charmy landing sprawled on the ground while Leon rolled and was able to stand up quickly. However, before he could help up the kids, the giant grabbed them. Blaze screamed as loud as she could, Charmy yelling.

"Leon!!!" Blaze shrieked, scared for her life. Leon immediatelygrabbed for his rifle, but he didn't have time. The giant started to squeeze the teenagers, then shake them around like a poor fish trapped inside a plastic bag. Leon was horrified, he thought the giant had killed them. Charmy was thrown into a small stand, and was hidden behind all of the rubble. Blaze was thrown over the wall, and Leon didn't hear her land. Leon was both terrified, and outraged. Then the giant turned on him, but to his luck, a dog jumped out from over the wall, and started barking. The giant turned to it, and it started roaring, it apparently didn't like the sound. Leon took this chance to shoot the giant in the head with his shotgun. It worked, pierced him in the eye. The giant stumbled backwards for a second, holding his bleeding eye. Then, it shrieked in pain, as something started pushing its way out of its back...If Leon wasn't scared already, he definitely was now. But he recalled the things that would pop out of the ganados heads if you shot them...he seized this chance to jump on its back, as the giant was in the fatal position. He then took out his knife and started slicing it in half. It yelled in pain again, and stood up, the thing still out of its back. Leon couldn't keep his grip, and fell. He didn't even have enough time to stand up when the giant picked him up, but before it could do anything, a loud sound came from over its head. It roared a tremendous roar, then stopped. It's eyes were hazy, and it fell, taking Leon with it. Leon yelled until he smacked the ground, he heard a crunch. The landing had broke his arm. Leon lied there in the giants clutches for a few seconds, until he heard a voice he almost thought was impossible to hear.

"Leon? Leon are you okay??"

He opened his eyes to see Blaze, sitting beside him with her worry in her eyes. He was so surprised he started to laugh. Blaze's eyes turned from worry to curiosity. She helped him out of the giants clutches and he seized her in an iron hug, he was almost in tears.

"I thought..." he stuttered, but she interrupted him.

"Me two, I broke my left arm and leg, and I think my skull is cracked...but I think I'm okay...Charmy..." her voice faltered as she said his name. Leon released Blaze, he wasn't about to believe he was dead yet...He signaled her to stay, and she did so gladly, tears falling into her lap. Leon stood up and walked over to the fallen stand. He knelt down, and, with his left arm, started lifting the wood panels one by one. Finally, he found him under the mess, but he wasn't breathing.

"No..." Leon murmured. Without even thinking, he dragged Charmy over to where Blaze sat, which seemed like it took forever. Blaze immediately grabbed the spray she had bought and, when he was close enough, used it on all three of them. Everything fixed to its normal way, but Charmy was still not breathing. They waited...one minute passed...two minutes passed...three...Leon's head bowed.

"It was too late..." he whispered, and he felt something wet fall from his cheek. Blaze lifted her head from Charmy's face, her eyes red and tears falling fast. Then, all of a sudden, Charmy gasped. His eyes flipped open and he started gasping for air. Leon stared, shocked, as Blaze hugged Charmy tightly. After Charmy patted her on the back and she let him go, he turned to Leon. Leon stood, staring at the young boys face. Then he held out his hand. Charmy took it, and not expecting it, Leon pulled him towards him and hugged him tightly.

"Don't die again or I'll kill you in the afterlife..." Leon muttered in his ear. Charmy grinned, and nodded.


	9. Chapter 9: The Rescue

**Disclaimer: Don't own any of this yada yada yada you get the point...I think this will be the last disclaimer... I'm getting tired of writing it over and over again...**

**Chapter 9:**

**The Rescue**

The three of them sprinted down the dirt road, away from the dead body of the El Gigante, towards the church doors. They slowed their paces once they reached the rickety bridges but stepped it up even more once they got off. Leon grabbed the insignia from his bag, holding it so tightly his palm started to sweat and burn. They made a sharp turn and ran up the stone steps to the faded doorway. Leon stopped just in time to stop himself from slamming into the door. He placed the insignia in the shape of the door and they heard a click. Charmy and Blaze was grinning, their faces glowing. Leon pushed the door to see benches and an alter stone. It was old, just like any other church. They heard a scuffling sound and they all froze, listening intently. Then they heard a loud bang.

"LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT!!!" they heard a girls voice scream.

"Hey, hey, hey!" a familiar voice said. "Take it easy!"

"Do you not know who I am?" she retorted. "I am the president's daughter, and they have no RIGHT to be holding me against my will!"

"Yeah, well here's some bad news princess," Silver replied calmly but harshly, "We aren't supposed to be here either. And until some help arrives, your stuck here. And it doesn't help if you go slamming yourself into the door! Leon and the others will come back for us."

"How do you know? They could be miles away by now!"

"Because my sister and best friend happens to be with him. And they won't leave me and Space behind." By then, Blaze and Charmy completely lost it and ran forward, not even knowing where to go.

"Silver!" Blaze yelled up to where the voices appeared to be coming from. Everything went quiet.

"Blaze?!"

"Silver, where are you??"

"Upstairs." he answered. "Hurry! Space needs help and they took everything we have, I can't cure her. She has a bad head injury..."

"What stairs? There isn't any!" Charmy called back, trying to fight his fears but Leon could see the color in his face vanishing. Leon peered over the tops of the stone floor.

"Really? Well I don't know! We were passed out when we were brought here. All I know, is that there's a floor beneath us." Hit by a sudden inspiration, Leon grabbed the rope attached to his bag. He took a hook out of his bag and tied it to the end of the rope. Blaze and Charmy watched him.

"What are you doing?" Charmy asked.

"Making a way up." Leon replied. He then started swinging it around his head, then threw it with all his might at the stone fence on the next floor. They heard a small clink but the rope didn't fall. Leon tugged at it, it was caught around the fence.

"Go up!" Leon ordered but Charmy and Blaze hesitated. Charmy then walked up to the rope and ran his fingers along it for as long as he could, until he had to reach on the tip of his toes to reach. Leon tightened his grip on the rope and pulled it as far as it could go, hoping it could stay. Charmy then jumped and grabbed onto the rope, hanging there for a few seconds. Leon, not taking into account for Charmy's weight, began to pant. Blaze jumped forward and grabbed some rope behind Leon, helping him pull it. Charmy then started to climb it. It was a lengthy process, but a few minutes later his feet reached the wall and he used it to help him climb over the fence. Once he was aboard, Leon and Blaze let go, faces red and sweat running down their faces. They heard little thumps as Charmy's feet walked across the floor.

"Charmy!" they heard Silver yell with delight. They then heard what sounded like a knife scraping against metal and Leon knew that he was attempting to unlock the lock on a cell. Leon waited until he heard the clunk of metal hitting stone and a loud creak. A few seconds later they could see Charmy coming back, helping Silver carry an unconcious Space and a young girl who could only be Ashley, following them. Leon and Blaze ran up to the wall and grabbed Space's feet as Silver and Charmy carefully eased her down. Once she was in Leon's arms, Blaze grabbed one of the health sprays on Leon's belt and used it on Space. The gash on her forhead retreated and her eyes began to flutter open. Leon grinned at her and Blaze smiled.

"Leon..." Space whispered, sounding as if she had only just waken from a long nap. Leon then looked at the three still on the wall, watching them, then carefully set Space next to the wall so the rest of her injuries could heal and walked back to the rest.

"Jump." he said to Ashley, but she hesitated. "I'm not going to hurt you..." more reassured, she obeyed and jumped from the fence, landing in Leon's arms. He set her back down and watched as Silver and Charmy jumped down. Silver immediately embraced his little sister and started swinging her around. Charmy nearly ran to Space and knelt beside her, and pulled her into a huge hug. Leon looked at Ashley, her face so soft with a frightened expression on her face.

"It's alright...we're going to take you home..." Leon whispered, just so loud for her to hear. She glanced up at him, gave him a quick little smile, and nodded. Charmy helped Space up and the other two walked towards Leon too. Silver and Space walked a little more forward then the others and Leon swept them up in a hug.

"Next time, be a bit more careful. I don't want to chase you down and fear loosing you two again." he joked but he was serious all the same, and the two knew that. They both nodded, but couldn't help but grin two. But when Leon let them go, they could hear shouts from outside the front door. They all looked sharply at the door.

"They're coming!" Ashley shrieked.

"C'mon!" Leon said and they all started running towards a small door at the back of the room. Leon swung it open and ran outside, only to stop a few paces away. They were surrounded. Blaze, Charmy and Leon raised their guns but the other three had none, they would be overwhelmed in no time. Ashley then pointed at a large create, full of red barrels.

"Over there! Shoot over there!" she commanded and even though Leon doubted her, he shot it anyway. The whole wagon exploded and bits and pieces flew every where, including the mangled flesh of the ganados. They all covered their eyes and when they looked again, the whole crowd was gone.

"Well, that was lucky." Leon commented and the others shakily nodded. They then heard more yells coming from behind them inside the church.

"Let's move!" Leon yelled and all six of them started running towards the now vacant road, towards what they hoped to be safety.


End file.
